Organizational BackboneOrganizational Backbone

This is about building a committed and mutually accountable executive management team, that is dedicated to lead the organization jointly into its greatest possible future while taking the entire organization along on this journey.

The Organizational Backbone Process generates peak alignment, orientation, focus and concentration of efforts in an organization. It is the premise for unleashing an organization’s full potential and creating the best possible joint results and effects throughout the organization.
It is a top-down process, which in itself is deeply rooted in the organizational wisdom. In its essence it consists of 3 central elements, which build successively upon each other:

  • On-Boarding. The executive management team onboard on committing to the process.
  • The Art of the organizational backbone which creates:
    • Executive Management Team building.
    • A joint executive organizational understanding on why what and how to proceed.
  • The Craft of the organizational backbone:
    • Generating buy-in for the organizational backbone elements inside the organization.
    • Implementing the elements into the organization.

Why is it called Organizational Backbone?

The backbone is the central element of a skeleton. It is the central axis from which every major movement of the body originates. Without an intact backbone, almost any movement of the body is either painful or not working at all. Taking this metaphor of the backbone to an organization, the Organizational Backbone is its fundament; it allows a company to focus its energy. The process aligns and orientates the organization throughout, starting from the executive management team through to each employee.

What is the Organizational Backbone?

The Organizational Backbone Process generates peak alignment, orientation, focus, and concentration of efforts in an organization. It’s the premise to unleash an organization’s full potential and to create the highest joint results and effects throughout the organization. It is a top-down process, which in itself is deeply rooted in organizational comprehension and wisdom. It is about building a committed and mutually accountable executive management team: that is dedicated to jointly lead the organization into its greatest possible future; that takes the entire organization along on this journey. A coherent Organizational Backbone gives all actions a common goal, all staff members a clear orientation, and, far more importantly, an identity and propulsion.

When to use it?

  • When formerly separate organizations need to integrate and develop one joint identity.
  • When momentum is scattered in the cooperation of teams, departments, or businesses. Whenever they do not pull the same side of the rope.
  • When a propelling VISION for the company, the business unit, the team, etc. needs to be developed.
  • When there is no deeper understanding of what it is, that the organization and its parts are aiming for, what the purpose is.
  • In difficult business circumstances where the alignment, orientation, focus, and concentration on the essential is success critical. Here the Organizational Backbone Process is highly effective.

Organizational Backbone​ explained

This presentation gives an overview of the Organizational Backbone program.